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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26561692">You and I</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/WishinGirl/pseuds/WishinGirl'>WishinGirl</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Coma, Eventual Romance, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Fred Weasley Lives, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Idiots in Love, Mischief, Mutual Pining, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Recovery, Romance, Smut</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 09:40:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,806</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26561692</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/WishinGirl/pseuds/WishinGirl</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Hermione is hurting and confused after the final battle and Fred's bruised body lays in St Mungo's in a coma... this is the story of the months and years that follow that harrowing night for the unlikely friends, can they help each other recover mentally and physically? Rated M for smut later on...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hermione Granger/Fred Weasley</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>65</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hermione took a deep breath as she left the psychological healing ward at St Mungo's after her first session of talking therapy on the Monday six weeks after the battle of Hogwarts. She had been the first patient on the newly established ward and had been seen by a muggle counsellor called Julie Walters and a magical healer, Gracie Lee, who was learning the field and setting up the ward.</p><p>They had talked a lot about the battle, and they had only scratched the surface of course, but she didn't only have the battle to work through and in time they would discuss the other suffering she had endured during her time at Hogwarts, her year on the run, obliviating her parents to keep them safe, being tortured physically and mentally, watching Dobby die as he saved her, being hunted not just for her choice in friends but also for being a 'mudblood'... she couldn't avoid that term however much she hated it. The scar on her arm wouldn't let her.</p><p>She had tried to hide the scar with healing and glamour charms, tried healing it with potions and salves from both magical and muggle medicine but nothing seemed to work. It wasn't only her physical scars that needed healing though and she became more and more confused as time passed since the end of the war yet she felt like she was falling more and more apart. She rarely slept as the walls her mind had built to keep her safe and sane were no longer deemed necessary by her brain which instead of cnotinuing to protect her sanity allowed the walls to crumble down inside her. Her waking moments were beginning to fill more and more frequently with flashbacks and her sleep was broken with nightmares from all of her traumatic experiences seeping through at any moment when she wasn't entertaining her mind.</p><p>Despite living at the burrow rather than being at school she was learning and improving in certain areas very quickly. She shared a room with Ginny and had become an expert in holding silencing spells through her single hour of sleep a night and not letting those silencing spells fall even during her worst nightmares. Her healing skills had also improved as she tended to her own and her unofficial family's war wounds, St Mungo's was overrun with patients following the end of the war and none of the Weasleys wanted to add extra strain for the healers, especially as Fred was still in the hospital in a coma following the final battle. She had also improved her cooking, magical cleaning, gardening and knitting skills under the family matriarch's guidance.</p><p>Molly had only allowed Hermione to help around the burrow after she had found the young woman rocking herself in front of the fire early one morning with tear stained cheeks and puffy eyes. Hermione had kept her glazed over eyes fixed unseeingly on the fire as she explained that she just couldn't keep all the thoughts at bay when she wasn't busy. Following her ordeals in the war Molly had wanted to pamper and care for the young woman she thought of as like a daughter so had been rebutting her attempts to help until then, but Molly loved Hermione far more than her own pride and if helping around the house was what she needed to keep her dangerous thoughts at bay then it was what she would get.</p><p>An added bonus for Molly had been that she now had more time to go to see Fred during hospital visiting hours. St Mungo's had put him in a private room due to the regular presence of the golden trio at his bedside, they caused such chaos in their wake wherever they went in the wizarding world now that the hospital found it much easier this way. That was also why Hermione's therapy sessions were booked outside of the usual hospital appointment hours and late in the evenings, after visiting hours finished and the hospital would be as empty as possible.</p><p>Hermione walked aimlessly through the quiet corridors not really feeling ready to go back to the burrow yet, she thought her first session had been helpful but she felt very fragile and worried about how she would react to the noise and commotion of the large family home so soon after recounting tales of death and destruction in battle. As she continued to wander aimlessly around the hospital corridors she noticed the entrance to the intensive care ward that Fred was in, she knew it would be only him and George in his room at this time of night so gently pushed her way through the doors after rubbing the cleansing potion over her hands and padded along the empty corridor to his door.</p><p>"May I come in?" She asked quietly as she poked her head around Fred's door to see a sleepy George curled up in bed next to her favourite twin.</p><p>"Hey Hermione" George replied equally softly, as though his twin were asleep and he didn't want to wake him. George always spoke loudly during the day but quietly at night, he strongly believed that Fred could hear him and wanted to keep a normal noise pattern for him. This was probably more for George's benefit than Fred's though as he needed to hold onto hope somehow. The war may have finished but the same shadows and darkness still hovered in the eyes of all affected, including the happy go lucky Weasley twin who feared for his brother's life daily.</p><p>Padding across the room Hermione sat down in the soft armchair on the other side of Fred's unmoving frame with a sigh. She had had a crush on Fred since first year, he and George had been so kind to her before she had made friends in her own year and she prided herself on quickly learning to tell the difference between them in return, that crush had then blossomed and developed through her teenage years but she had always pushed it aside as she knew he would never look twice at a bookish prefect like her. Ron and she had chemistry so she chose to pursue that instead which culminated in their kiss during the final battle but over the following few days they realised that, however much they loved and adored each other, they were just not right together romantically.</p><p>It had taken an intervention by all of the burrow's residents to make them voice this to each other though. They had each been confiding in various family members as they didn't want to tell each other and cause any more pain so soon but, as those same family members pointed out, they were already causing each other pain by being together when they both knew it wasn't right for them. Love came in so many different forms and they would always be exceptionally close, just not romantically.</p><p>When Fred had been injured in the battle the world had slowed terrifyingly and Hermione had felt like her lungs weren't working and her vision had gone black around the edges. She had only managed to breathe properly again when she had arrived in the great hall to hear Ashlynn, the muggle born healer working alongside Madam Pomfrey in the great hall, briefly explain that she had repaired Fred's brain injury using something that Hermione thought looked rather like a miniature muggle CT scanner and that he was still alive before moving on to another patient in an equally life-threatening condition. Ashlynn had in fact used her own magical friendly version of a CT scanner to diagnose Fred's brain injury after a wall collapsed on him and had subsequently performed magical surgery on him with the images from the CT scanner to guide her. He had since been moved to St Mungo's intensive care unit but was still in a coma that there was no guarantee that he would ever wake up from.</p><p>"Come to visit your favourite Weasley?" George teased puffing up his chest slightly, he really did try to keep up morale.</p><p>"Yeah" came Hermione's reply with a gentle laugh, her soft gaze wandered unconsciously to Fred's bruised and scarred form.</p><p>This look didn't go unnoticed by the awake twin who promptly stood up from the bed.</p><p>"Well I'm going to have a shower and grab something to eat if you're happy to sit with him?" George announced as he collected a few items from the overnight bag the rest of the family topped up for him during their daytime visits and walked into the en-suite shower room.</p><p>With a confused expression Hermione watched the door close and lock behind him, as far as she was aware George hadn't left Fred's side without being coerced, other than to nip to the loo, even once since Fred had arrived on the ward. His brothers and father managed to persuade him to shower every other day with great difficulty and his mother and friends brought him food and drink to keep him going, even though he seldom ate it and they often had to throw it away at the end of the day or next morning.</p><p>"Perhaps he's starting to cope a little better" she mused out loud "he's been really worried about you, you know. We all have but it's been especially hard on George."</p><p>Hermione told Fred all about her therapy session feeling safe with Fred as she always had done, while George showered, before starting to go into detail about her day at the burrow when he popped outside the room to grab some snacks from the vending machine. He may have been content being out of sight of Fred's body when his twin was alone with Hermione but he still didn't want to be out of sight of the room, so he soon returned with a bag of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans and two cans of fizzy pumpkin juice for them to share as they chatted for the next few hours.</p><p>…</p><p>Hermione visited Fred again three days later following her next session at the psychological healing ward later that week, she came during visiting hours once a week too with Ron and Harry but even though they were her best friends she didn't feel as comfortable talking as openly with them around. The hospital staff seemed okay with her visiting outside of the official visiting times when she was alone if only because they saw how much it helped George, they had all developed a soft spot for the prankster turned resistance fighter twins and war heroine.</p><p>Hermione loved spending time with the twins just like she had during her first term at Hogwarts and mentioned it at her third session with Healer Lee and Julie, the muggle counsellor.</p><p>"I hear you saying that you find the time you spend with the twins to be therapeutic. How was your sleep afterwards?" Julie asked at the end of the session, she had a magical child so she already knew about magic and could understand, to some extent at least, Hermione's feelings of belonging to two worlds.</p><p>"Better but that could have been because of our sessions together though" Hermione replied with a slow nod "they were on the same day."</p><p>"Yes, but the only way to find out is to isolate one or the other and seeing as it is a positive experience I would recommend adding additional visits in the same vain rather than skipping or altering your existing ones." Julie finished the session with a small smile as she walked Hermione to the door.</p><p>Armed with a book called Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Hermione followed the instinctive path to Fred's room again and settled herself into the armchair next to Fred's bed. As George showered and fetched snacks she told Fred about her therapy session and her day learning about summer flowers from Molly in the burrow's garden.</p><p>"I'm becoming quite domesticated now," Hermione said proudly after listing the names and features of the plants she had tended that afternoon "your mum had me cutting lavender flowers for us to make scented fabric bags and soaps tomorrow. In the muggle world it would take weeks for them to dry enough to use but your mum has an overnight spell which I also learnt today. Lavender and forget-me-nots are definitely my favourite flowers, they might not be as fancy as a peony or as eye-catching as sunflowers but they are far more beautiful to me."</p><p>George had caught Hermione's last sentence as he re-entered the room with tonight's box of every flavour beans and cans of fizzy pumpkin juice from the vending machine and repeated it to himself in the hopes he would be able to tell Fred what Hermione's favourite flower was when he woke up. He told everyone that he was sure his twin could hear their voices, but after seven weeks in a coma he wasn't really as optimistic as he portrayed himself to be. Having Hermione there really did help him though as he knew from the way she looked at his twin that he wasn't the only one who loved him so intensely.</p><p>"What's the book Mione?" He asked as he popped a bright yellow bean into his mouth before puckering his lips at the sour taste of raw lemon, unlike muggle jelly beans Bertie Bott's weren't sweetened to make the taste more pleasant.</p><p>"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" she replied laughing at his expression before digging through the box and finding a particular shade of green she was sure would be either grass or apple, either of which she could live with "it's by an author called Roald Dahl and was one of my favourites as a child. I brought it to school with me in first year and McGonagall saw me reading it one day when I was homesick. Apparently Roald Dahl had a favourite cousin called William who was a muggle-born wizard, but he returned to the muggle world during the global wizarding war and opened a chocolate factory to which he invited muggle-born witches and wizards before they were old enough to get their Hogwarts letters. When the war was over he let wizarding children attend too but kept special days for muggle borns to attend and get a taste of our world." She smiled fondly as she stroked the cover of the well loved, old book. "I thought Fred might like to hear the story, I think you both would have enjoyed going to visit his factory if he were still alive today."</p><p>At George's smile and encouraging nod Hermione began to read.</p><p>Over the next fortnight of evenings she continued to read the book aloud and by the end of the last chapter George had filled several pages in Fred's product ideas notebook, which George had placed on the bedside table in case his twin had a stroke of genius which needed to be recorded as soon as he woke up from the coma. It quickly became a habit for Hermione to finish her evenings with a trip to St Mungo's and the bags under her eyes began to lessen as the visits helped her to sleep soundly for a few hours rather than only one before the nightmares tore the screams silently from her throat again. Not even Ron's inquisitive nature questioned her intentions behind going alone when he saw the good it was doing her.</p><p>Hermione however was thoroughly confused. She had buried her crush on Fred so deep down that even she couldn't see it anymore and she really couldn't understand why her time with him made her feel any better. 'It must be the peaceful environment' she convinced herself as she allowed her gaze to linger on Fred's freckled face.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Fred hurt.</p><p>He really hurt. His whole body ached more than it ever had before, every muscle felt as heavy as lead refusing to even twitch despite his best efforts. Scorching pain seared through his body emanating from his head which throbbed angrily in an almost overwhelming, it felt like knives of ice and fire were scraping along his bones with each painful throb of his head.</p><p>However Fred Weasley didn't mind as much as you would expected him to because he only got a few moments like this at a time and each time it happened he regained at least some of his senses, his vision was a different shade of red or orange than the drowning abyss and he relished in the snippets of voices he heard around him. Between these torturous moments there was only a wasteland of numbness, emptiness and loneliness. He found it hard to follow what the voices were saying but today, for the first time in what felt like an eternity, he could pick out at least a few words.</p><p>"Lavender… Forget-me-nots… Beautiful…" he heard the one voice he was most desperate to hear again, it spoke softly from one side for a fleeting moment before he was once again claimed by the all consuming darkness.</p><p>This was the first time he had heard her voice since this cycle of pain and emptiness had begun and as he wandered aimlessly through the desolate wasteland it triggered his mind to replay a memory for him so vividly that it felt like he was watching it back in a pensieve.</p><p>"Gryffindor!" the sorting hat had exclaimed from atop a bushy head of brown hair.</p><p>The young girl whose hair it was leapt up in a bundle of hope, nerves and excitement, darted over to the Gryffindor table and sat down beside him.</p><p>"I'm Hermione Granger" she introduced herself to all those within reach, shaking each of their hands in turn as quickly as possible before the next name was called at the front of the hall.</p><p>Fred had been enchanted by her no-nonsense attitude and the excited glitter of her eyes, so he spent the rest of the welcome feast messing around in the hopes of catching her attention.</p><p>"What was that all about?" George demanded, pulling Fred into a secret passageway when they made their way up to Gryffindor tower following the end of the feast.</p><p>"What was what?" Fred was utterly useless at lying to his twin but it didn't stop him trying to avoid the question.</p><p>"You were acting like a five year old with a crush!" George snapped "We have a reputation to uphold, we're the kings of this school now Charlie's graduated and you better start acting like it!"</p><p>From then on Fred tried to avoid the bushy haired first year, he really did but after returning to the common room well after curfew at the end of the first week to find her curled up in front of the fire in tears he and George both knew he wouldn't be able to keep it up.</p><p>"Hey Hermione, what's wrong?" Fred wrapped a long arm around her as he slumped down next to the tearful girl on the floor and lent back against the scarlet sofa.</p><p>"It's alright, you can tell us anything" his twin added with a kindness shining through his voice that was rare to hear from either prankster.</p><p>Hermione sniffed and shook her head so the pair just sat quietly beside her, watching the dying embers of the fire until she was ready to talk.</p><p>"I just… I just don't think I belong here" she whispered a while later.</p><p>"What makes you say that love?" Fred asked with a squeeze of her shoulders.</p><p>"No one will be friends with me" she sniffed as more tears escaped down her cheeks.</p><p>"We'll be your friends Hermione" George said quickly as he snuggled up to her other side so she was sandwiched between the identical redheads.</p><p>Fred smiled gratefully at his twin over her bowed head.</p><p>"You don't have to say that" Hermione said, ducking her head to hide the hope in her small smile.</p><p>"Of course we don't have to, but we want to" Fred soothed "besides we heard that you're by far the cleverest first year and there's a lot of cleverness that goes into our pranks. I think we'll get along brilliantly!"</p><p>The memory faded into nothingness and Fred was once again left alone.</p><p>...</p><p>"I'm really confused Fred" Hermione's voice reached him as the pain seeped back into his body but he barely registered it when focusing on the tearful cracking of the familiar voice "the war's over why don't I feel better yet…"</p><p>"It's not going to work" Hermione's singing voice cut through the loud chatter in the hall and immediately caught Fred's attention</p><p>"Oh yeah?" he smirked at his favourite witch currently sat on a bench trying to read, why was she always reading and why did he find it so sexy when she was?</p><p>"And why is that Granger?" George asked jumping to her other side, he had long ago taken up the mantle of helping his twin to not embarrass himself in front of his long term crush.</p><p>"You see this? This is an Age Line. Dumbledore drew it himself." Hermione waved her hand at the glowing line encircling the goblet of fire to illustrate her point.</p><p>"So?" Fred asked deliberately infuriatingly, he loved to get a rise out of her and maybe she would even tell him off or put her hands so perfectly on her hips.</p><p>"So…" She slammed her book closed and Fred grinned at his success "a genius like Dumbledore couldn't possibly be fooled by a dodge as pathetically dimwitted as an Ageing Potion."</p><p>"But that's why it's so brilliant" Fred stated happily.</p><p>"Because it's so pathetically dimwitted." His twin finished "Ready, Fred?"</p><p>"Ready, George." Fred clinked his potion with George's.</p><p>"Bottoms up" they announced together downing the potions barely a second before leaping over the age line.</p><p>All of the room's occupants, except for Hermione, cheered loudly as the twins threw their names into the goblet but she just went back to reading as though there were no-one else there at all. She didn't even react much more than rolling her eyes when the twins grew long grey beards, were thrown across the room and started wrestling over the failure of their plan.</p><p>Fred was desperate for her attention. So from that point on he made sure that she was always the one to catch him going against the rules so that he could draw a scolding from her and maybe even draw the very sexy signature hands-on-hips pose that would later be used in her prefect role. He continued to be the one to wrap her up in a blanket when she got distracted reading late into the summer evenings at the burrow, eliciting a quiet thank you from her every time. He would join her at her favourite table hidden deep in the library and quietly study how to make the next product idea beside her, just to be rewarded with small smiles that were only for him in their secluded corner of the library.</p><p>...</p><p>When the pain returned, Fred had no idea how long it had been between his periods of awareness but he heard his twins voice seeping through the orange glow</p><p>"Sweets that make you levitate… great idea, thanks Mione…"</p><p>His twins words were followed by her soft laughter and his mind slipped away again into another memory as he imagined the smile she would be wearing as she laughed.</p><p>Fred felt George elbow him hard in the ribs and turned to see him nod towards the doors of the great hall. The joke he had been telling Katie and Angelina died in his throat as he saw the triwizard champions and their dates enter the room.</p><p>Hermione was gliding along in a soft periwinkle blue dress that floated from her waist to the floor in delicate layers, her hair was sleek and curled up with a few strands framing her face that was lit up with a wide smile. Fred felt like the world had stopped as his jaw hung loosely and his eyes repeatedly raked across her figure, eager to take in everything about the way she looked just then. Although her dress and hair looked breathtaking, it was the beaming smile and glittering eyes that really had him hooked.</p><p>He had already fallen for his youngest brother's best friend on her first day at Hogwarts and there was nothing he could do about it but fall more and more in love with her.</p><p>He wondered what it would be like to be here with her tonight. He imagined twirling her as they danced together just to see her smile, or telling her jokes as they ate together just to hear her laugh, or holding her in his arms just to see the glitter in her eyes close up. George's cough from next to him and another elbow to the ribs made him pick his jaw up and collect himself.</p><p>Hermione was here, dancing with someone else and not just anyone else. Her date was a triwizard champion and an international quidditch seeker who had caught the snitch in the world cup final earlier that year. He steeled himself for a night dancing with George's date Katie (who couldn't tell the twins apart) while George danced with the girl he hadn't had the courage to ask out himself. Fred had never thought he would be good enough for Hermione but seeing her enter on the arm of Viktor Krum that night cemented this thought in Fred's head.</p><p>…</p><p>The next time the pain arrived he didn't hear any voices, just the soft snoring of his twin coming from somewhere close by. Even though she wasn't here his mind still filled with a memory of her as the pain and sounds of reality slipped away again.</p><p>He was lying in his four poster bed in the dark Gryffindor boys seventh year dorms late one night, the sounds of his twin and friends' snores filled the air. The twins had decided that they would soon be leaving Hogwarts and had spent the evening planning Umbridge's farewell gifts in preparation. Hermione had even helped with the complex magic behind some of them.</p><p>'She's actually pretty naughty when she's decided to be defiant' Fred thought to himself before groaning internally at his choice of words. 'No.' he told his body firmly even though it didn't listen. 'That's not ok, she's worth way more than that.'</p><p>His mind, without his consent, wandered back to a few hours earlier in the library. He loved how studious and intelligent Hermione was and often joined her at her favourite library table while she studied and he planned pranks or researched new product ideas.</p><p>The table was deep in the dusty stacks of the library, much deeper than most people ventured so she could work here undisturbed and he could research without ruining his reputation. The table was even more well hidden as it was in a small alcove, flanked by bookshelves on either side so tightly that it had benches along those edges rather than movable chairs, you had to squeeze through a narrow gap two more bookcases to get into the alcove and a tall window sat at the other end with a window seat overlooking the lake and quidditch pitch.</p><p>Even though the view from the window was lovely it was the sight of the beautiful witch opposite him that distracted him from his work. Her brown curls glowed golden in the early evening sun and her rosy lips twitched as she wrote out notes in preparation for her upcoming OWL exams. Her nose twitched in concentration, causing the freckles across her nose to smush together in a way that Fred just couldn't keep his eyes off.</p><p>"Pass me that cushion please Fred" Hermione requested, breaking Fred from his reverie "thanks."</p><p>Fred rearranged his own seating and attempted to clear his now very dry throat as she moved the collection of throw cushions from her bench and hopped up onto the window seat placing her feet up on the desk and resting her books against her thighs. Fred lowered his eyes to his books and used every ounce of his will power to keep them there for the remainder of their study session. He knew she was wearing her skirt and from his current vantage point he didn't know what he might be able to see.</p><p>He already found it difficult to keep his mind off her as it was, looking at her sat up by the window, framed by the sun's golden rays would not help him stay in control at all. He tried not to think about what he would do if she were his girlfriend, how secluded they were at this table and how much he dreamed of cuddling her in that window seat. How much he wished he could snog her soundly in the privacy of their alcove table.</p><p>How he could take her delicate hand in his rough one and lead her to the nearby deserted stacks where he would press her between the shelves of books and his own body. Then he would take her wrists in one of his large hands and raise them above her head while his other hand roamed the curves of her body before lifting her leg up to rest around his hip. The way he would use that free hand to make her moan and melt into him until she was begging for him to take her. How we would lift the other leg to wrap around his waist and hook her feet together behind his lower back before rocking his pelvis into her eliciting mewls of pleasure and begs for more between her heavy breaths.</p><p>He had to stop these thoughts. She didn't know how he felt about her and even if she did he doubted she would ever want to be with him. He was a stupid nobody, a poor man who wasn't even going to leave school with any NEWTs. No man could ever match her intelligence but he told himself she wouldn't even consider the silly prankster he was, he could never even dream of changing the world like she would.</p><p>She was way out of his league but that wouldn't stop him loving her forever and making sure that whoever she chose to be with up would always treat her right.</p><p>…</p><p>"Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank," Hermione read aloud "and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, 'and what is the use of a book,' thought Alice, 'without pictures'"</p><p>Fred was overwhelmed, the pain was here and the orange glow but he could hear many more words than usual when this part of the cycle arrived. He focused on her voice, using it as an anchor, and listened to her read the entire first chapter of Alice in Wonderland before he heard George's voice.</p><p>"What colour would you like next?" His twin's question was followed by a rattling sound.</p><p>Fred furrowed his brow, this didn't make much sense; he had never got to spend this much time in reality before.</p><p>"Fred?" a choked voice said and he felt something gentle and soft against his cheek.</p><p>"Fred?" an equally choked but much more gruff voice followed immediately and he felt something rough grab his hand and squeeze it tight.</p><p>He tried to open his eyes, to squeeze his hand in reply, to speak or cough. He willed his lungs to do anything other than their monotonous barely there breaths but he could do nothing. He wanted to cry out for his love and for his twin. He wished he could scream out in frustration or let angry tears fall. His body however did nothing and it was with heavy sorrow that his mind faded away again.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She was sure she had seen his eyebrows furrow slightly. She was so sure of it that she would have bet her life on it but as the hours passed by with the pair watching intently, hopeful tears filling their eyes, he did not move.</p><p>"I'm so sorry George" Hermione croaked through her cascading tears, the dam in her eyes had long since broken "I really thought… I'm so sorry, it must have just been me being silly…"</p><p>"Mione s'ok" George's voice cracked painfully as he too allowed his tears to fall for his brother "I… one day… one day he'll open his eyes for us… and he'll be back to pranking and joking and laughing with us all... "</p><p>With a tight hug for George and a kiss on the cheek for Fred, Hermione grabbed her book and left. She couldn't bear to watch his unmoving face any longer with all her hopes crashing down around her.</p><p>Her footsteps echoed around the tiled floors and plain white walls as she walked through the hospital corridors on autopilot, her mind swirling with thoughts of Fred waking, dying, laughing, never moving again, hugging her, being in pain, smiling, having a funeral... She decided that she wouldn't tell the rest of the Weasleys about thinking Fred had moved, it wasn't kind to get their hopes up like that and she felt guilty enough as it was for doing that to George. In her head she practised what she would say when the Weasleys asked her about her evening, what words she would use to avoid the truth without lying, the tone of voice she would say them in and she even practised giving small tired looking smiles. It was so late when she arrived in a flash of green flames in the burrow's fireplace that everyone was already in bed asleep so she need not have worried.</p><p>Slipping off her trainers Hermione grabbed a fresh glass of water from the kitchen and made her way quietly upstairs. Moonlight filled the bathroom so she was able to brush her teeth and wash her face without needing to risk waking anyone by turning on the light. She pushed the door to her and Ginny's room open just enough to slip inside before changing into her pyjama shorts and one of Ron's old Chudley Cannons t-shirts, slid into bed and put up her silencing charms.</p><p>Even though she and Ron weren't together romantically, they were still best friends and she found great comfort in wearing his old t-shirts to sleep in. She didn't feel quite so alone when she did.</p><p>…</p><p>Screams ripped through the air. The most horrifying noise that Ginny had ever heard causing her to sit bolt upright in fear.</p><p>"NOOOOO!" the screams became louder and impossibly more intense as Ginny looked over at Hermione's bed to see her body contorting into impossible shapes and writhing in obvious agony.</p><p>Ginny was across the room within seconds and kneeling by her side. She wiped the sweat from Hermione's pale brow with the back of her hand, the brunette was ice cold, and shook her shoulders gently trying to wake her.</p><p>"Hermione wake up" she pleaded as her own tears fell in heavy drops "it's just a dream it isn't real. Come on Hermione, please wake up."</p><p>"Pleeease…. Please stop…" begs escaped from Hermione's purple lips in between her harrowing screams. Her back arched off the bed and her limbs continued to twist in ways Ginny didn't even know were possible for a human being.</p><p>Ginny was feeling more and more helpless, shaking Hermione harder didn't work to wake her nor did any of Ginny's pleading words. Jumping to her feet Ginny's sleep addled brain had an idea and she sprinted up the burrow's stairs to the very top as quickly as she could. Dawn was almost breaking and the pale blue light of early morning helped guide her path as she burst into Ron's room and shook both inhabitants awake.</p><p>"It's Hermione," she gasped through her tears "I think she's having a nightmare."</p><p>As soon as the word Hermione escaped his sister's lips Ron was out of bed and pummelling down the stairs with Harry hot on his heels.</p><p>"Shhh, shhh Hermione it's alright. You're safe. You're safe now. We're all safe now. You're okay. We're all okay. It's okay now. You're safe here. You're safe." Ron whispered into her curls repeatedly, his long limbs wrapped tightly around her body so she couldn't thrash about and hurt herself any more. His hands smoothed her hair and rubbed comforting circles on her back until the screams had died down to heavy sobs wracking through her tight chest.</p><p>While continuing to whisper words of safety and comfort, Ron picked her up when she opened her eyes and carried her down to the lounge. Harry had watched Ron comfort Hermione at Shell Cottage on the first night after Malfoy Manor, he knew Ron was better at this than he was, so decided to put his efforts into comforting a frightened Ginny instead who had never seen her friend in such a state before.</p><p>Ron settled himself into an armchair in front of the lounge window and arranged Hermione on his lap such that they could watch the sunrise together comfortably. He didn't ask any questions or prod her to talk in any way. He knew her inside out and she would talk when she was ready.</p><p>The sky turned from a chalky pale blue to a light mauve before it slowly filled with gold. The edge of the sun's flaming white glow was just emerging over the top of the orchard trees when she finally spoke.</p><p>"I was there again" Hermione's voice was so quiet that Ron barely noticed she had spoken "I was in Malfoy Manor and she… I can feel the cruciatus curse every time like it's happening again, I feel the burning of that hellish knife carving my arm like it's a fresh wound…"</p><p>"Every time?" Ron asked equally quietly, his voice entirely free of judgement.</p><p>"Every night since the final battle" Her voice was cold and empty now "I don't know why my silencing charms failed me tonight."</p><p>"What was different tonight?" He asked kindly. Ron knew that she didn't need his re-assurance right now, or his anger at her use of silencing charms to keep this from them. Instead what she needed was to work out this puzzle she had presented herself with, she needed the distraction and the feeling of accomplishment that came with working out an answer.</p><p>"I…" She thought back to a couple of hours ago and furrowed her brow in thought "I slept longer than usual, I got back nearly three hours ago and usually I don't make it much past one hour before waking. Maybe it became less effective over time."</p><p>Ron nodded and held her closer as he wished he had known that she had been sleeping so little and suffering so much, wished he had been less focused on his own recovery and more on hers.</p><p>"But I was also distracted when I put up the charms so maybe it was that…" She felt so safe in his arms that she opened up for the first time to someone who was awake rather than immobilised by a coma. She told him of the nightmares she had every night and the silencing charms she used to protect those around her from them. She explained why Molly was okay with her helping around the house and garden so much and even went into detail of her therapy sessions. She outlined her triggers and explained why she never left the burrow unless it was to visit St Mungo's. She described her visits to Fred every night and what she thought she had seen this evening.</p><p>The pair cried together and held each other tight as the hours passed and the burrow started to come to life around them.</p><p>From then on she didn't use her silencing charms and she slept in Harry's bed in Ron's room so they could wake and comfort each other from their nightmares. Harry moved into Charlie and Bill's old room on Molly's orders, despite Ginny's protests that he should stay with her, he often sneaked down into her room after dark anyway but kept up appearances during the day.</p><p>The golden trio could often be found sitting on the dock with their feet dangling in the cool pond as they processed their memories and emotions together and she soon was able to sleep through the night. The nightmares still came but when she slept in Ron's arms they were rare and even then he soon woke her and soothed her enough to go back to sleep. In return she healed the cuts he gave himself on the really bad days and his broken knuckles from punching the thick trees in the orchard when he became completely overwhelmed by anger and hurt and grief at all that had been lost and endured.</p><p>…</p><p>Hermione continued to visit Fred every night and entered his room one Thursday evening at the end of August, prepared to read the final chapter of Alice Through the Looking Glass, when she was frozen in place.</p><p>…</p><p>The pain and voices had faded from Fred against his will and he clawed at them willing them not to go away.</p><p>This time though his memories were different. Instead of seeing one distinct memory he saw a compilation of glimpses and flashes of time.</p><p>She shook his hand primly as she introduced herself at the Gryffindor house table on the evening of her sorting. He loved the feel of her palm against his own.</p><p>He held her as she cried in front of the fireplace at the loneliness she felt and soon her tears were replaced by smiles at her two new friends instead. He loved being the one to cheer her up.</p><p>She ran into the great hall when she was healed from her petrification, her smile wide and brave. He loved that confident smile that blotted out the rest of the world.</p><p>He wrapped her sleeping form in a blanket on the burrow's sofa one late summer evening and marked her place in her book before placing it on the side table, something he had done time and time again. He loved how comfortable she was around his family.</p><p>She lent across the library table to correct his potion recipe for canary creams and swore him to secrecy. He loved her secret prankster side.</p><p>He provoked her and teased her at every opportunity. He loved the way her eyes lit up ferociously.</p><p>She walked into the great hall in that periwinkle blue dress. He loved how captivatingly beautiful she always looked.</p><p>He got caught by her putting up his advert on the Gryffindor notice board for product testers. He loved the way she put her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrows at him threateningly.</p><p>She spun around the dance floor at his eldest brother's wedding, her laughter lighting up her face. He loved how free she was.</p><p>He reached out in fear and heartache as he saw her apparate away with Harry and his youngest brother across the chaos that followed Kingsley's patronus' announcement. He loved how powerful she was to change the world.</p><p>She was gone for months without sending updates or requests for help and he worried for her every moment. He loved how committed she was to creating a brighter, safer, better future for everyone in their world.</p><p>He stopped breathing when he arrived at Hogwarts and saw her in action fighting off multiple death eaters at once who were surrounding her, easily throwing more nonverbal spells at them than he had even seen before. He loved how fearless she was, a true Gryffindor.</p><p>She hadn't been in sight when the wall collapsed on him and the world went dark. He needed to see her, he needed to know that she was okay, he had to find out if she made it through the battle, he had to know if she was alive…</p><p>"Mia…" a dry whisper made George jump "Mione… Love… Mi…."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you jasminerose1295 for leaving a review! It's so great to hear there's someone reading and enjoying my story!</p><p>Wishin' girl x x x</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
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    <p>"Mia…" a dry whisper made George jump "Mione… Love… Mi…."</p><p>Fred could see the orange glow again and he couldn't let it go yet another time. Summoning all his strength and willpower he dragged open his eyelids to a blindingly bright white light that was suddenly shadowed with a strange orange and pale brown fuzzy shape.</p><p>"Fred?" he heard his twin's voice ask tentatively from above him. "Freddie?"</p><p>Fred blinked several times and twitched his fingers, trying to reach for his twin while George wept noisily and wrapped his brother up in the biggest hug he had ever given anyone.</p><p>"George?" Fred heard his voice croak as he lifted his sluggish heavy arms to wrap around his other half.</p><p>The pair swiftly broke down in a mess of relieved laughter and tears of joy.</p><p>Several hours later they were still entangled in a firm embrace, the healers had been in to check up on Fred and give him the potions he needed now that he had awoken. The healer had then tried, in vain, to separate the pair and explain his condition but the twins were in their own world oblivious to everything around them.</p><p>That was until they heard a familiar greeting being called from the doorway followed by a shaky gasp and the soft thud of a book falling onto the floor.</p><p>…</p><p>"Fred?" Hermione whispered as she blinked away the tears that threatened to spill. She barely dared to hope, she didn't want to believe what she thought she could see through her fuzzy tear filled eyes in case she was wrong again.</p><p>Fred lifted his head from his twin's shoulder with great effort from his aching muscles. George squeezed him and slowly let go for the first time since he had woken.</p><p>"Hello love" Fred's tears ran in rivers down his freckled cheeks as he saw the woman he loved standing in front of him. She was alive. She had made it through the battle. She was here.</p><p>Hermione ran and leapt onto the bed wrapping every limb around Fred as she laughed and cried. She felt his throaty chuckle rumble from his chest and into hers. Her laughter came freely now and they laughed and cried and embraced while George went outside to give them some privacy.</p><p>He ran as fast as his legs could carry him through the sterile halls and corridors to the entrance of the hospital. He stepped through the window into the outside world for the first time in almost four months and immediately apparated to the burrow's garden.</p><p>"Mum! Dad! Everyone!" His voice reverberated through the wonky house, brimming with a whirlwind of emotions, as he threw open the kitchen door and pounded up the stairs banging on every bedroom door as he went. It was after nightfall and everyone had gone to bed but within moments the landings and stairwells were full of bleary eyed Weasleys and Harry peering over the wooden banisters. "He's awake." George managed to get out just before he collapsed into his Mother's arms in overwhelmed tears.</p><p>…</p><p>Fred held her close to him, her body melding to fit his and his arms locked tightly around her waist and shoulders. Her hair smelled of apples and coconuts, her curls soft as he fingered them gently. Her sweet and floral perfume complimented the scent of her hair and he was overcome with emotion.</p><p>"You're alive" he murmured with his face buried in her curls.</p><p>"You're awake" she replied softly, her breath delicate and enticing against the shell of his ear.</p><p>They stayed that way for hours, barely moving, enjoying the embrace and getting lost in the sounds of the other's breath and speeding heartbeats.</p><p>"Knock knock" George called from the doorway as he stepped back into the room at dawn to see the mess of long limbs and curly hair on Fred's bed "Mum sends breakfast pastries and fruit. They're all in the main waiting room already, have been all night, but those security guards are fierce! I've never seen anyone stand up to mum like that before and even the presence of the golden boys wasn't enough to get them through."</p><p>Hermione untangled herself from Fred and hugged George in welcome, her enormous huge smile never faltering. Fred blushed as his arms reached out after her instinctively. Thankfully, he thought, she didn't see and he had time to re-arrange himself while moving to sit up against the headboard.</p><p>"Breakfast pastries?" He said eagerly eyeing the stack of tupperware boxes in his brother's arms.</p><p>"Here you go" George chuckled, extracting the largest tub from the bottom of the pile and wheeling the table over to put the others boxes on "she's made fresh ones of those every other day, just in case. None of the rest of them have been allowed to touch them!"</p><p>Fred cracked open the corner of the lid and was hit with a wave of sweet sugary cinnamon.</p><p>"Mmmmmm" he moaned and ripped off the lid to find four large cinnamon buns with lemon icing drizzled across the top.</p><p>Hermione's eyes lit up at the smell of her favourite breakfast pastry but diligently opened all the other boxes to find an small array of danish pastries filled with raspberry and blueberry jams and several boxes of fresh strawberries, cherries, watermelon and three yellow-green bananas. Chuckling to herself at Molly's excessive provision of food she helped herself to a banana and some watermelon before settling into her armchair.</p><p>"Budge up mate" George nudged Fred across the bed to settle in next to him against the headboard holding the box of danish pastries "can I have one?" he asked, stretching his neck to peak into the box of cinnamon rolls.</p><p>"Not a chance!" Came Fred's laughing reply as he moved the box out of reach "You've got your treat there, this one's mine!"</p><p>This started a small mock tussle on the bed, during which George was very gentle and careful not to win or hurt his twin in the process. Hermione just giggled contentedly from her armchair, full of gladness that Fred was awake and messing around already.</p><p>"Mum used to make these as a treat whenever we were unwell as children." Fred explained, gesturing to the boxes in each of their laps.</p><p>"She knew we couldn't resist the treats so used them to tell the difference between us" George said between mouthfuls of flaky blueberry filled pastry</p><p>"and to see if we were actually ill or just trying to get out of trouble. When we finally ate them again after being unwell she knew we were better." Fred finished as he licked lemon icing and cinnamon from his fingertips.</p><p>"My Dad used to take me to a cafe near our house on Saturday mornings when I was a little girl," Hermione recalled fondly "Mum ran a Saturday morning clinic for an hour every week at their dentist practice so that was our time together, just the two of us. He bought me a hot chocolate and we shared a cinnamon bun every time, I wasn't allowed much sugar as it isn't good for your teeth so that was a special treat."</p><p>A sad smile spread across her face as she remembered her parents and once again wished she could see them again. They were in Australia living under new names since she had obliviated them to keep them safe. Hermione needed to finish her research on reversing the memory spell before travelling to find them, it would be a long time before she saw them again, if she ever did.</p><p>"Here you go" Fred offered her the box of sweet cinnamon buns "why so sad, love?"</p><p>"I… I sent my parents away to keep them safe… I miss them dearly" Hermione explained slowly, until now only she, Harry and Ron were the ones to know what she had done.</p><p>Fred could tell that there was more to the story but was willing to let her tell him in her own time.</p><p>"Go on, have a cinnamon bun. Mum sent too much food as always, plus I already feel full as I haven't eaten in… well. How long was I asleep for?" Fred asked, his brow slightly furrowed as he recalled all the strange glimpses of voices and memories he had re-lived.</p><p>Saving the stuttering and mumbling Hermione and George from the difficult conversation the Healer thankfully entered the room at that moment followed by the rest of the Weasleys and Harry to go over what happened and Fred's recovery plan. The best way she could describe Fred's continuing condition for the family to understand was as a bruise on the brain that was half way healed. He needed to stay in hospital under review for at least a week.</p><p>...</p><p>Hermione continued to visit Fred every night, she told him about what she learnt during her days at the burrow while George showered then joined them. She and George sandwiched Fred on the single hospital bed sharing Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans while she continued to read aloud to them about Alice's adventures. Fred was thrilled with all the new product ideas that George had filled his notebook with and the dutiful doodles and annotations he had included with spell names and ingredients.</p><p>"You must be looking forward to having your boyfriend home tomorrow" the young assistant healer said to Hermione as she left Fred's room ten days after he woke up.</p><p>"Oh, he's not my boyfriend," Hermione corrected the woman quickly "but yes the whole family is looking forward to having him back home."</p><p>The assistant healer was the same age as Fred and George but had attended school in France at Beauxbatons, she was very beautiful with dark hair that fell perfectly straight to the top of her shoulders, olive skin and dark eyes. Her voice was high but not whiny and she was petite in every way. Hermione felt immediately self-conscious and jealous at the smile that lit up the gorgeous woman's face at the idea of Fred being single, so she left quickly and flooed back to the burrow.</p><p>Assistant Healer Carina Romano had moved to England to study at St Mungos, her mother and father had both moved from Italy to France to study and settled there. They were glad that their daughter had also decided to study abroad and were even more glad that she had waited until the war was over before going.</p><p>"How's my most handsome patient doing?" Carina crooned as she entered Fred's room swaying her hips as usual around the twins.</p><p>"Better when I can go home" Fred looked wistfully towards the door, he would have given almost anything to be able to follow Hermione just then.</p><p>"Well, as soon as the head healer arrives in the morning we can get you ready and home." Carina said as she checked his vitals and added her notes to the chart at the foot of the bed "I'll even get all the paperwork ready overnight so you can get your sexy arse going before breakfast if you like?"</p><p>Carina continued to shamelessly flirt with Fred throughout her night shift as she used his discharge paperwork as an excuse to spend so much time with him. By the time the head healer arrived at half past six the following morning Fred and George were both showered, dressed, packed and sat eagerly on the side of the bed with the completed paperwork resting between them. Fred had completely ignored Carina's repeated hints at taking her on a date and was eager to escape her as well as the hospital's walls.</p><p>She may have been annoying the twins but her work was flawless and after a final check up Fred and George arrived at the burrow in a flash of green flames.</p><p>They stepped out together, they always travelled through the floo as a pair even as adults, and quietly carried their items upstairs trying not to wake anyone before they were ready. After putting their bags in their old bedroom, the flat over the shop would need repairing before they could return to living there, they decided to slowly wake up the family.</p><p>Fred gravitated towards Ginny's room where he assumed Hermione would be staying, opening the door slowly though he saw that there wasn't even another bed in the room that Hermione could have stayed in. 'She must be in Charlie and Bill's old room' he mused as he carefully closed the door without waking Ginny and climbed the staircase. Repeating his careful actions at Charlie and Bill's old room he found Harry snoring loudly and the other bed was not only empty but it wasn't even made up. He went to Percy's old room next and found it to be full of dust as though it hadn't been touched in years.</p><p>He continued up the stairs until he reached Ron's room at the very top of the house, George had now joined him in confusion at not yet finding Hermione. Opening the door as quietly as before his breath caught in his throat.</p><p>There was the woman he had been searching for, the woman he loved and adored, wrapped up tightly in the arms of his youngest brother. Her head rested against his chest and his face was buried in her thick curls, his arms were wound tightly around her torso that was covered in one of his bright orange Chudley Cannons t-shirts. She looked so peaceful as she breathed deeply in her sleep and Fred watched Ron's arms tighten around her protectively in his own.</p><p>The world felt like it was caving in on him again. Of course she and Ron would be together, it made sense. They had been best friends for years and had repeatedly fought off dark wizards together. Ron was smart and strategic and was the kindest of the Weasley brothers, he had shown his extreme bravery while protecting his friends even in first year when he sacrificed himself to the giant, violent chess set.</p><p>George dragged Fred away and closed the door gently before guiding him to the sky light and climbing up onto the roof with him.</p><p>"So…" George began, not really sure where to go from there.</p><p>...</p><p>Author's Note</p><p>Yay Fred's finally awake!</p><p>Please leave me some kudos and a comment to say hi and let me know you're reading this! I'm so sorry it's taken me forever to update but I'll try and update again soon...</p><p>Have a fab day everyone,</p><p>Wishin' Girl x x x</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Author's Note</p><p>Hello! Welcome to this Fremione tale following the end of the seventh HP book.</p><p>This story runs in parallel with my story 'Falling Apart With You', you do not need to read both but if you want to know more about the circumstances of Fred's survival of the final battle and the healer who made it possible then please check that out from my page :)</p><p>Have a great day and please leave me a little review/follow/favourite etc. to share the love,</p><p>Wishin' Girl x x x</p></blockquote></div></div>
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